It’s common this time of year for us to get busy. Summer plans are brewing, students are graduating, and people are heading outdoors to enjoy the beautiful weather. Work obligations build up. The weeks slip by. There’s so many things on the calendar and so much distraction. Regardless of organizational…
When Life Becomes Overwhelming, These 4 Tips Can Help
Levels of five small RNA molecules were found to be highly elevated in extracellular vesicles — small packets of cellular cargo — found in the urine of people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), a new study reports. These preliminary findings indicate the impairment of these RNA molecules might be linked…
Health Canada has approved the oral medicine Tavneos (avacopan) as an add-on therapy to treat adults with severe ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV). The approval specifically covers the use of Tavneos to treat granulomatosis polyangiitis (GPA) and microscopic polyangiitis (MPA), the two main types of AAV, in combination with…
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Love in the Time of Vasculitis
Love is such a blurry concept. It can hurt or it can heal. It can be rewarding and fulfilling and beautiful — if we know what it is. And with an autoimmune disease, love takes on an entirely different meaning. The idea of “being in love,” as most sensible…
Risk factors for cardiovascular diseases — those related to the heart and blood vessels — are common in people with ANCA-associated vasculitis and lupus nephritis, an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation in the kidneys, according to a study in Singapore. The study, “Cardiovascular risk assessment in lupus nephritis…
The European Commission is expected to propose a new governing framework for health data next month, called the European Health Data Space (EHDS), with the aim of connecting national health systems to facilitate secure and efficient transfer of data across systems in different European nations. The move is expected to…
Prolonged low levels of immunoglobulin antibodies as a result of rituximab treatment did not increase the likelihood of serious infections in children with granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) or microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) — the two most common forms of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV). This was according to a post-hoc analysis of…
Many people think music is a luxury. Others call it a necessity. But everyone agrees that music is enjoyable and rounds out a full life with everything the earthly and spiritual worlds have to offer. As a vasculitis patient, I’d like to add one more level of consideration. Music to…
A recent case report highlights the difficulties that can occur in diagnosing granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), a form of ANCA-associated vasculitis, after a patient was initially diagnosed and treated for tuberculosis. The male patient had a mass in the mediastinum — the space between the lungs — initially attributed…
The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) has updated its State Report Card to make it more digitally friendly and added telehealth to its categories of rare disease policy issues in a nod to its increased use during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. NORD’s report card project began seven…
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- New nanoparticle approach targets kidney damage in vasculitis
- Study points to 2 biomarkers for AAV disease activity, relapse
- Monitoring our kidney health is crucial with ANCA vasculitis